After two decades and an estimated cost of $1bn, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, just a few days after the official opening ceremony on Saturday.

Regarded as the world’s largest archaeological facility for a single civilisation, the museum is located 2km (1.2 miles) from the pyramids of Giza and 8km (5 miles) from the capital, Cairo.

The complex spans nearly 500,000sq metres (5,381,900sq ft) and will house more than 100,000 ancient artefacts from the 30 dynasties of ancient Egypt.

Some of the main attractions include the 3,200-year-old, 11.36-metre (37ft) statue of King Ramses II, the complete collection of Tutankhamun’s treasures and a 4,500-year-old boat, one of the oldest intact ships in the world, belonging to Khufu, the pharaoh renowned fo

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